NJPW Announces G1 Climax 34 Lineup

G1 Climax season has arrived once again, and New Japan Pro-Wrestling has pared down its annual tournament to two blocks of ten. The 34th G1 Climax tournament will start on July 20. NJPW has announced most of the field with eighteen of the twenty participants announced so far.

In the A Block will be last year's winner and former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, Tetsuya Naito. That block will also feature Shota Umino, Shingo Takagi, SANADA, KOPW 2024 Provisional Title Holder Great-O-Khan, Zack Sabre Jr., NJPW STRONG Openweight Champion Gabe Kidd, Pro Wrestling NOAH's Jake Lee, EVIL, and then the 10th member determined by qualification. In the B Block will be AEW star Konosuke Takeshita, alongside El Phantasmo, Hirooki Goto, Yota Tsuji, Yuya Uemura, NJPW World Television Champion Jeff Cobb, NEVER Openweight Champion HENARE, IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion David Finlay, Ren Narita, and the tenth qualifier. 

The G1 Climax Block Qualifiers will be contested between Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI, Chase Owens, KENTA, Callum Newman, and Yujiro Takahashi for A Block, while NJPW President Hiroshi Tanahashi, Toru Yano, Oleg Boltin, Satoshi Kojima, and TJP will compete for the final spot in B Block. The qualifying tournament is set to start next week, though was not clear on the specific date. The qualifying finals will take place on July 5.

The G1 is known for its grueling schedule, rewarding its victor with an opportunity to challenge for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom in January. While Naito is currently not the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, he faces current champion Jon Moxley at the upcoming AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door event on June 30, possibly meaning he could bring the belt back to Japan in time for the tournament.